IPL 2013: Shane Watson in awe of Rahul Dravid

Shane Watson seemed to be in awe of Rahul Dravid's batting and said the former India captain is batting like he used to bat in his early 20s.

Written by Press Trust of India

Read Time: 3 mins

Jaipur:

Shane Watson on Tuesday spoke reverently of the influence and guidance of Rahul Dravid, stating that the former India skipper was a constant source of inspiration for him and Rajasthan Royals.

"Rahul as a person is one of the most amazing people whom I have met in my life. He has got utmost respect from all the players, from all the support staff. He is doing an amazing job as a captain. Paddy Upton our coach this year, him and Rahul have worked extremely well this year," Watson said after his side jumped to second spot in the points table with a nine-wicket win over Delhi Daredevils.

"The ultimate challenge for a team is to have a successful culture and that's something we have achieved at the moment. It starts at the top with great like Rahul Dravid. He is doing an amazing job and Paddy Upton certainly complementing him," he said.

Watson seemed to be in awe of Dravid's batting and said the former India captain is batting like he used to bat in his early 20s.

"Rahul is batting extra-ordinarily, he certainly has a long way to go in his career the way he is batting at the moment. I think just about the world cricket would never thought that Dravid could take down bowlers like he has, it's been amazing to watch him. For me, Dravid bats like he is batting in his early20s. He has got few more years in him."

Watson said the team is playing some great cricket this season.

"We are very close to play-off; there is no doubt about that. We have been playing very good cricket at the moment. But we still need to finish it off strongly. To get to the finals, certainly we have got the quality players," he said.

Rajasthan now play their remaining matches away from home except one against Chennai Super Kings on Sunday and Watson said they are confident of changing their poor away record.

"It does not make much of a difference. If it's a good cricket wicket, then I think good cricket can be played anywhere. In Jaipur, the T20 wickets are very good, there is pace and bounce in the wicket. Ball turns a little bit but not a hell of a lot.

"It's true to other parts of the country as well. In the end, it's just we need to adapt quickly to the conditions; we certainly got the quality players to put in a performance that we know we are known for," he said.

Watson, however, conceded that bowling remains a concern.

"Bowling is something we are certainly going to keep working on. I believe our bowling, at times, has been a little inconsistent. But we have pretty young bowling squad. Twenty20 is built around scoring runs. It does provide a big challenge to the bowlers, we have got the talent, and we have got the skills within our bowling unit. I know in the next couple of games, we will have complete performance with both bat and ball," he signed off.